Flagstaff’s Affordable Housing Dilemma: Gains and Losses
This year, Flagstaff witnessed the introduction of three housing projects that collectively contributed over a hundred affordable rental units to its notoriously costly housing market. However, despite these additions, the overall count of affordable rentals saw a decline due to the expiration of federal tax credits that had previously supported other units.
For years, Flagstaff has relied on federal low-income housing tax credits to bolster its stock of affordable rental units. These credits help landlords provide apartments at rates significantly below the market average and can last between 15 to 50 years, contingent upon renewal. Recently, one Flagstaff apartment complex saw the expiration of tax credits for 144 affordable units, resulting in a net decrease of 34 affordable rentals across the city.
Devonna McLaughlin, CEO of the non-profit Northern Arizona Housing Solutions, emphasizes the importance of community focus on expanding the inventory of subsidized units. She notes, “I think we still need to continue as a community to focus on increasing that inventory of subsidized units, but also recognize that some of these programs have a compliance period for a number of years and when that compliance period ends, we lose that of those affordable units.”
According to McLaughlin, the definition of affordable housing is when a family’s rental costs, including utilities, do not exceed 30% of their annual income. Currently, Flagstaff hosts 1,800 apartments designated exclusively for low-income renters. The city’s housing strategy aims to create nearly 800 additional affordable rental units by the year 2032.
—
Read More Arizona News
